Always, Never
by Expired In Goreville
Summary: A series of one-shots focused around Adventure 02, with a little Frontier here and there. Now up: "Observation"
1. Hate, Fear, and Sleep

**READ BELOW!**

**HELLO! Alright, I've been having a nasty case of writers block with my other story and this has been bugging me for a month. I decided to make **_**A BUTTLOAD **_**of one-shots concerning Frontier and Adventure 02. And if you were wondering about **_**Romeo and Juliet: Digimon Frontier Style, **_**well... it got deleted. I just logged on one day and it was gone. I'll repost it sooner or later...**

**Alright, so this is one of the shittier pieces of work I did. Oh well, there will be more.**

Season: _Frontier_

Character Focus: _The twins : )_

Time Period: _About a year after the Digital World._

POV: _Kouji! Hooray!_

_**Hate, Fear, and Sleep**_

Sleep.

Some say it's a little slice of death.

I say it's an eight-hour orgasm.

Sleep is the greatest time of, well... anything. Think about it: when you sleep there's no suffering, torment, pain, anguish, sadness, or anything else; unless you're having a nightmare, but still, you don't _feel _anything. And to most people nightmares are uncommon, so all you're left with is your dreamscape, which (for the most part) is usually filled with things that you'd find pleasant. So, sleep is a habit for me.

I'm not one of those kids who stays up all night on the weekends just because they can. Everything is routine for me, it doesn't change just because a certain day pops up. I have a pretty straight-forward snoozing schedule.

Now, don't get me wrong, sleep is fine and dandy and all, but I do have those nights where I just need to stay up. It's usually if I have a problem, I'm staying the night at someone's house, or if I need to fight my thoughts.

All of those choices are pretty common.

I've got a few problems that like to rear their ugly heads once in a while, mostly weight that I throw on my own shoulders 'cause I think too much sometimes; all of that is tossed into the 'if I need to fight my thoughts' category.

And yes, it's true. Big, bad 'I don't need anybody' Minamoto Kouji actually stays the night at people's houses. Mostly with Kouichi, but sometimes all of the chosen children will have a giant sleepover at Takuya's.

Tonight, I was with Kouichi.

And let me tell you something, my 'nii-chan is a grade-A _insomniac. _I know what his problem is, so I don't blame him. His mind is constantly racing at about seven-hundred miles per hour, thinking and getting worked up about God-knows-what. Now, when people are tired their mind and thought-process slows down, calming and relaxing them; Kouichi's never slows down. I know I'm over-eggagerating a bit; I mean, it's not _that _bad. But still, on a bad night it takes him about an hour or so to fall asleep.

This was one of those bad nights.

I was comfortably curled up in a ball of blankets on the floor in Kouichi's room next to the mattress he was laying on, contently dozing and about to reach full-on sleep. He seemed calm enough, maybe he was actually sleeping too. '_BUZZ! _Sorry, you're incorrect.'

Tug-tug on my shirt sleeve...

I just groaned and slapped his hand away without any conscience thought about the action, just a reflex. I heard shuffling on the mattress next to me, then a bodily warmth on my back.

"Otouto..." Kouichi's voice was a little shaky as he lightly tugged at my sleeve again.

"Ugh, what?" I groaned, then lazily and clumsily pawed at the figure in back of me, trying to shoo him off like a pestering fly.

"Kouji," he started again. "Is it wrong to..." he trailed off for a second, as if trying to find the right words. "... _hate _my own element?"

My eyes shot open and I furrowed my brow. He's all worked up over _that_? I gave a mixture of a sigh and a groan, then turned over to face him. The moonlight casted an eerie shadow around his features; he looked like a ghost. I shivered, thinking about the 'Staircase Incedent' and how he was so close to actually becoming a ghost. I shivered again, this time from the biting cold even though I was under the blankets. Kouichi must've been freezing, so I lifted up the covers and gave him access to a little warmth.

He muttered a 'thank you' and cuddled next to me, gently digging his face into my neck. I stiffened up, feeling a little awkward with the sibling affection.

_C'mon, Kouji. _A little voice in my mind spoke. _He's your brother, for God's sake. Comfort him, no matter how ridiculous!_

So I listened, 'cause oddly enough that little voice is usually right. I hesitantly put my arms around him, pulling his body a bit closer into an embrace.

"So, is it wrong?" He spoke into my neck.

"Is _what_ wrong?" I felt a little guilty that I didn't remember the question right away, but then brushed it off. I was too tired for this.

"Is it wrong to hate my own element?"

I'm not going to lie, I was a little confused by the question. _Element_? Like H2O is water and EU is gold? As far I knew, Kouichi didn't have an element. Unless he meant...

"Darkness?" I asked. "Is it wrong to hate darkness?"

He nodded timidly and shrunk back a little, as if I was about to strike him. I pulled him back into me. I thought about it for a minute; was it _wrong_? Hell, who was I to decide that?

When I was silent for longer than a moment, my nii-san whispered "Did you go back to sleep, 'touto?"

I ignored the question, having a stoke of thought. "I don't think you _hate _it." My vision hazed as I absently stared at the moon, which seemed to be perched on Kouichi's window, watching us. "I think you just... _fear _it."

He pulled back from my embrace; the dim light from the dead rock in outer-space provided little illumination, but I could still see that my brother's eyebrow was cocked.

"I fear it?"

"People often get hate and fear mixed up," I sighed, wanting to get back to joyous, wonderful, sublime sleep so bad.

"I know."

"You don't hate the darkness, you-"

"Yes, yes. I know." He pulled completely away from me and flipped over on his back, putting his hands behind his head. "I _fear _it." If I didn't know any better, that comment almost sounded mocking.

"We tend to hate what we fear," I replied with a yawn. "because we usually fear the unknown and we hate what we don't know."

"So," he started. "Hate and fear are practically the same thing." I couldn't help but wonder why the hell he decided to have a deep conversation at three o' clock in the fucking morning...

"Almost, it all depends-" I yawned again. "-on the circumstance and situation." Flipping over, I nuzzled my head into the pillow and closed my eyes; hopefully that signaled to him that I was done talking.

He was silent for what seemed like a long while and I was pleasantly entering the golden gates of Dreamland...

Tug-tug on my shirt sleeve.

"Hey, Kouji," came a voice from behind me. "That doesn't answer my question... Is it _wrong_?"

"Kouichi?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and go to sleep."

**Okie dokie. I won't tell you to review, but it wouldn't hurt if you did... -wink-**


	2. Mourn

**Hello, hello, hello! Here's another one-shot for you. I hope that this is in character, since this is my first time writing something involving Adventure 02.**

**REVIEW!**

Season: _ZeroTwo_

Character Focus: _Ken and Iori._

Time Period: _Somewhere in the season where Iori still doesn't trust Ken._

POV: _Ken Ichijouji -swoons-_

_**Mourn**_

This is the worst day of the entire year.

Really, the anniversary of my brother's death almost unbearable. Mom was weeping, my father was sulking. Me? I was laying in my bed, mentally beating myself up like a punching bag.

"C'mon, Ken," Wormmon nestled into the crook of my arm. "You know it's not your fault."

I just sighed. Of course it was my fault. Throughout everyone's life they've been told 'be careful what you wish for because it might come true.' Those words have a horrifying truth attached to them. Even though I was just a little kid and didn't know any better at the time, I still can't forgive myself.

_I'm _the one who should've died.

Osamu had so much going for him, he could do anything; I was just in the way. That stupidly selfish grudge I had against him ended up being his death.

If I could trade places with him right now, I probably would. I know that's what my parents would want. Every time they look at me, they think of him. Every time my mom hugs me, she wishes it was him. All I am is a grim reminder of the son they lost.

From what I'm saying, you probably think that my parents are terrible and selfish people. They're not. In fact, they're probably the greatest parents anyone could ask for. They love and care about me to an extreme point. I'm all they have left and they're not planning on letting anything happen to me.

The reason behind their actions is simple; they miss him.

I do too.

"You should pay him a visit." Wormmon crawled onto my chest, his many legs slightly tickling me. I thought about it; I _should _pay him a visit, that would be the right and respectful thing to do. But I haven't been to my brother's grave since his death, how will I react once I get there? Will the grief and guilt be more overwhelming than it already is?

This is the worst day of the entire year.

I jumped off my bed, cradling Wormmon in my arms. My partner hopped down to the carpet. "Are you going?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, putting on a jacket. "But it's something I have to do alone. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I understand. Just be careful."

I forced a tiny smile, then patted his head. "I'll be fine."

"If you're sure..." he responded.

As I walked out the door to my room, I called into the living room: "Mom, dad, I'll be going out for a bit."

The streets weren't a mess with people like they usually were, probably because all of the increasing 'monster' incidents. The air had a certain chill to it, but it wasn't the kind of chill you get from the cold. I was on the same street Osamu was when he was hit by that car...

I shivered, continuing on. The Tamachi cemetery was in eyeshot. I walked up to the black rod-iron gate, scanning the headstones for my brother's name. Sure enough, 'Ichijouji Osamu' was engraved near the back row.

Someone was gazing down at the tombstone next to Osamu's.

I thought the short figure looked quite familiar. I entered the cemetery gates with a bit of curiosity and headed towards the person who was obviously pained, his head hanging low.

It was Iori.

What was he doing here? He lives all the way on the other side of the bridge.

I was hesitant to make myself noticed, since he still sort of hates me, but then I sucked it up and walked right to my brother's grave... And right to Iori.

He seemed startled to see me there. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that, Ken."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

And that was that. For the most part, we just silently mourned our losses. I couldn't help but wonder if Osamu would've been proud of me after all that's happened. I was the reformed villain who tried so hard to let go of what he's done and all the damage he's caused. That was worth something, right?

I suppose he'd just smile and say "_You've come a long way, Kenny-Boy._"

I smiled a bit, almost hearing his voice ringing in my ears. Then I frowned, realizing that it was just my imagination and knowing all too well that he was six feet under the ground I was standing on. I sighed, depressed.

This is the worst day of the entire year.

"Ichijouji Osamu." Iori read the headstone.

"He was my older brother."

He looked at me, interest flashing in his eyes. "I didn't know you had a brother."

I looked at the headstone he was in front of. "Hida Hiroki." I read.

"My father." he said, almost nostalgically. "He was a police officer who died in the line of duty."

I could admire that, I had a certain respect for people who put their lives at risk just to ensure safety and peace. Mostly because I know how hard it is.

There was silence hanging in the air between us like a thick fog. I have to admit, it was a little awkward; Iori and I still weren't too comfortable around each other and I could sense some hostility towards me.

"If I may ask," the younger boy started politely. "how did your brother..." He trailed off, obviously trying to choose his words carefully. "What I mean is, what happened to... pass him on into the other life?" I inhaled, which he took the wrong way, quickly adding "If you don't feel okay talking about it, then I understand completely."

"He was hit by a car."

I saw the boy wince, as if actually feeling the impact of a vehicle striking him. "I-I'm sorry." Iori choked out.

I inaudibly mumbled "I am too."

The whole thing was explicitly brutal; I remember Osamu's face, once a face destined for remarkable things, grotesquely disfigured. I remember his body, bloody and bruised. I remember weeping in my room that night, crying out apologies and screaming for my onii-chan to come back...

"We have more in common than we think." Iori stated. "I didn't realize until now that we share the same pain. We're both haunted by loss."

If what I'm hearing is correct, then I believe that Iori had a newborn respect for me.

He turned to me and extended his hand. I shook it.

He smiled. I smiled.

At least something good came out of the worst day of the entire year...


	3. Watching, Wanting

**I don't know about this one. I was kinda hesitant to post this, mostly because I think Takuya is a bit OOC; but it's a depressed and jealous Takuya so I guess it's alright. Anyway, enjoy... even though is one is sorta crappy. I just needed to give you guys something before I went out of state. I'll update when I get back. Woo!**

Season: _Frontier_

Character Focus: _Takuya and his jealousy._

Time Period: _Four years after the Digital World._

POV: _Takuya-kun!_

_**Watching, Wanting**_

Kouji, Izumi, and I have a pretty good relationship. I would never say it to his face, but Kouji's my best friend. And Izumi, well... She's my confidante, my shoulder to cry on (even though I'd never admit that I cry... 'cause I don't. Alright, you win), and she's just there for me. I guess you could say that she's my best friend too.

She's also my love interest.

Of course, that all leads back to the Digital World. That's where my odd bond with Kouji remarkably shaped itself and that's also where I developed feelings for a certain blond Italian. I guess she's my first _real _crush. And, boy, did I fall hard...

So here we are, four years later at Junpei's 'house party.' I've gotta hand it to him, he throws a good fiesta. There was music, dancing, great food catered by some ol' fancy restaurant, and alcohol...

I wasn't much of a drinker. Sure, it can be fun, but I can think of a bazillion other ways to have a good time. Once in a while, I resent that I've matured too much for my own good. Sometimes I even miss that cocky, hyper-active, goofball kid I once was; _that _boy would've been hammered by now.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Junpei's party. Everything was going great. A bunch of people showed up, so it was a little uncomfortably crowded. Half of the kids I didn't even know; they were Junpei's age. Even if it's by just a year, there's a _huge _difference in the way they act. It made me a bit uneasy overhearing conversations about drugs, sex, and such...

So, sitting in a chair and drinking a soda, I people-watched. It was about an hour and a half into the party, so some people were already drunk off their asses. I was pretty content watching a brave few make fools out of themselves, sipping my carbonated, bubbly, sugar-filled beverage and digging into the delicious burgers... So meaty and burger-y... (Heheh, I guess not _that_ much has changed)

As I was saying, I was having a decent time. Until I saw _them._

Pshh, what a perfect way to ruin a guy's night...

A slow mushy lovey-dovey song came on and all the little love birds rushed to the 'dancefloor' (which was really just Junpei's living room.) I was planning on not watching, until something caught my eye.

Kouji and Izumi. Too close. Slow dancing. Oh, the agony!

Then I remembered, _Oh yeah, they're dating... _It wasn't anything really recent, a good six months, I think. But seeing them like that made my heart fall right to my feet. I wasn't used to the physical part of their relationship; Kouji isn't one for public displays of affection, or so I thought. I sighed, taking my last gulp of sugary goodness.

I felt an arm lazily sling over my shoulder. "Hey!" A voice shouted. I looked up, a little startled. It was Kouichi, with a pinkish-red colored drink in his hand. "Whatya doing, just all sitting here?"

There was something a little off about him. And why was he talking funny? I decided to continue on with him, just to see if my suspicions were valid...

"Hey, Kouichi," I kept it casual, not wanting to cause alarm to him. "What's up?"

He chuckled in a moronic fashion. "Er, um. I dunno." The potent scent of his breath gave him away.

I couldn't believe it (I almost _refused _to believe it): Kimura Kouichi was _drunk_. That was really... different of him. He hates drinking. Unless someone spiked the fruit punch...

"Hey, buddy," I started, not wanting to bluntly confront him. "What's that drink you got there?"

"This?!" He replied loudly, holding up the glass and spilling just a little on the tile floor. "This is apple juice!" He chugged down more of it.

"Uh, Kouichi?" I reached up slowly to try to take it from him. "That's not even apple juice... It's punch, but someone must have spiked it."

"Don't try to tell me how to handle mah busy-ness!" He quickly moved the drink away from my swiping hand.

I decided that I didn't like intoxicated Kouichi at all; It sickened me a little to see him turned into a blubbering idiot.

"Kouichi, you're drunk." I stated simply with a sigh.

"Whut?" he hiccuped. "I don't _drink._ That's fer all you rich-folk! I've never drunken nothing my 'tire living-ness!"

I sighed and turned my attention back to the dancing couples, Kouji and Izumi specifically. They're so damn good together! It was like the perfect cliched Hollywood production: stars in their eyes and they couldn't see anything but each other! Blah, blah. That should be _me _on the dancefloor (Junpei's living room) with Izumi!

Kouichi chuckled. "I didn't know Kouji could dance all slow-ish and romantic foo-foo." He sipped more of the so-called 'apple juice' and I snatched it from him. He laughed even more. "The only dancy-dance I thought Kouji knew how to do was a lap dance!"

I stared at him and brushed off the weird comment about lap dances, which caused him to go over the edge with laughter; the annoying _drunken _laughter...

"Takuya, wanna know a lil' somethin'-somethin'?"

I put my head in my hands. "What?" I grunted.

"You're pretty."

I groaned. He must've been completely sloshed. "Kouichi, how many glasses of punch did you have?"

"Uh..." He counted his fingers. "five plus three. It's yummy!"

Oh, dear Gods, he's had _eight _glasses of whatever the hell they put in the punch! Tons of health class material ran though my head (it's one of the only classes I ever payed attention in.) Oh no, he could have, like, alcohol poisoning! Or his nasal cavity could be messed up and he could lose his sense of smell! No, wait... that was cocaine or something. Anyway, the point is that his health could be at risk!

"Kouichi," I stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm gonna drive you home now..."

He grinned stupidly and lopsidedly at me. "Don't be all silly and what-not, Tak-ya!" He playfully pushed my shoulder. "You're too drive to drunk!"

I sighed and pulled up another chair next to me and Kouichi stumbled to the seat. I sat down myself. The slow song was about to come to a finale, by this time Kouji and Izumi were somewhere else...

"Aye, looky-look!" Kouichi piped up and pointed to the food-and-drink table. "It's meh otouto-chan! Wait a bit, or is he my 'nii-chan?"

"He's your otouto."

"Ayuh, thanks!"

Sure enough, there was Kouji and Izumi by the punch bowl. (Heheh, they'll sure get a surprise after a few more glasses!) Kouji was pouring her some of the spiked beverage. When they started walking somewhere else again, he playfully grabbed her ass. I wanted to crawl under a rock. Ugh, I like them when they're apart, but I hate them together. It's like a train wreck that I'm a part of: I see that I'm gonna crash (when I look at them) but I can't steer away in time or I'm just frozen (I can't stop staring!)

Well, of course, staring at them gets me pissed. I grab my empty soda can and squeeze the life out of it. I hated seeing her in somebody else's arms, even if that somebody is my best friend.

"Someone's jelly." Kouichi said. Jelly? He must've meant 'jealous.' He rested his head on my shoulder. "I can make it better."

"Kouichi," I brushed him off of me. "Please stop hitting on me."

"Well, for the record, _I _broke up with _you_!"

"Hey, guys," This was a new voice. I looked up to see a long haired and not-drunk version of Kouichi... with a beautiful girl on his arm.

"Heeeey, bubba!" Kouichi waved enthusiastically, then hiccuped.

"You okay, onii-san?"

"I'm as fine as a chinchilla in a trash can with a crow bar!"

"Alrighty then..." Kouji looked at me then mouthed '_Is he drunk?' _

I nodded in response. "A little unexpected, isn't it?" I said.

Kouji shook his head with a smirk. "We're going to have a little talk when I get you home, Kouichi."

"Oooh!" The older-by-nine-minutes twin clapped his hands together. "Is it about the birds and the bees?! Buzzzz!"

Kouji chuckled. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye, Kouji." I said, giving a little wave. "Bye, Z." I smiled.

"Bye, Takuya," Izumi said. "I'll see you tomorrow for Junpei's Operation: Party Pick-Up. He's a genius, isn't he?"

"Yup," I replied. "a real prodigy."

She grinned.

And then, they were gone.

"Aww, ayuh." Kouchi wrapped his arms around one of mine, a distant dreamy sort of expression on his face. "My little bubba's growing up sooo fast-like! Aren't they just _cute_?!"

"Yeah," I mumbled bitterly. "_Cute._"


	4. Health Class

**Alright, this one is CRAPPY. I decided to take a break from all the emotion and try a different route... and I needed to give you guys something since I haven't really updated. Well, I hope this doesn't suck as much I as I think it does. Haha, review please : ) Sorry if it's kinda sorta OOC. And I looked it over; it kinda sounds like "Daisuke-bashing," but it's not. I love him. Haha, anyway: ON WITH THE SHOW!**

Season: _Adventure 02 _(you'll probably be seeing a lot more of these from me)

Character Focus:_ You pick._

Time Period: _Um... whatever sounds good to you._

POV: _Takeru._

_**Health Class**_

Some people would call health class boring.

Well, except for Motomiya Daisuke and Ichijouji Ken.

Ever since the ex-Kaiser saw the light, Daisuke and him have developed quite the friendship. Sure, Ken is still his quiet, semi-antisocial self, but the goggle-head brings out a special little side of him that no one else really sees. Heck, Miyako, his own girlfriend, rarely gets that part of him. I have to give Daisuke some credit for that.

Hikari and I walked into the classroom together, hand-in-hand. This received a lovely comment from our health teacher (and my basketball coach). "Aye!" she barked. "How many times do I have to tell you kiddies? No PDA allowed!" I could've sworn she just started foaming at the mouth. "Takaishi, if I have to tell you again, you're off the team!"

"Yes, coach Lei." I bowed my head, pretending to be ashamed. My girlfriend let go of my hand, trying to stifle her giggles.

Just as Hikari and I were taking our seats, Ken and Miyako walked in, fingers intertwined.

"Ichijouji! Inoue!" Coach Lei's face turned beat red, veins popping out of her neck like vines on a tree. "No PDA!" Spit flew from her mouth.

"Listen, lady! I can-"

Just as Miyako was about to protest and rebel, Ken let go of her hand and bowed respectfully. "We're sorry, Ms. Lei. It won't happen again." Miyako silently fumed at her less-outspoken boyfriend, then went to a seat.

Haha, they're meant to be.

The bell rung as class was just getting settled in. It was no surprise when a certain goggle-head arrived fashionably late...

Daisuke, out of breath and panting, ran into the classroom just as the bell finished its last_ riiinnggg_! Automatically, he ran to sit next to Ken, hoping the teacher didn't notice him being late. But, really, what was new?

"Motomiya!" Coach roared. "One more tardy and your butt is gonna be here for lunch detention; cleaning this classroom and scraping the dead skin off my feet!"

The whole class shivered. I've seen her feet, and let me tell you, it's not pretty. Not to mention they smell like sour milk and rancid bananas. How they obtained the scent is a minor detail that I didn't really want to know.

For the first fifteen minutes of class, Coach LadyDevimon (my little nickname for her) popped in a video... about 'safe sex.' Really, I've never been so uncomfortable in my entire life. I mean, a female condom looks like a transparent tentacle! But that's besides the point.

I looked over at the other students: Daisuke looked like he was getting ready to explode with laughter at any moment, Ken shifted awkwardly in his seat, Miyako was absent-mindedly fiddling with her pencil, and my Hikari just seemed neutral about the whole thing.

After the torturous video was taken out, the teacher announced that she (or he. I'm not too sure) would be passing out index cards. On these cards, we would have to write an anonymous question to be answered at the end of class.

"Don't you worry your stupid little heads off, kiddies." Coach Lei had said. "No one will know which question was yours. But if you have any problems at all, come see me after school and we'll get you some help."

Yeah, right...

"And if you don't have a question," she continued. "well, then just don't turn in a card..." Her voice dropped. "And I'm warning you, if I get any ridiculous or just plain stupid questions, _you won't like the outcome_." Her eyes flared up with hellish fire. Gods, she's creepy...

I turned to Hikari, hoping that her face alone would help my experience in this class run on a smoother course. "Are you going to write anything down?" I asked.

"Nope," she replied. "That video pretty much... _explained _everything."

"Haha, no kidding." I blew her a little kiss. She caught it in the air, bringing it to her lips.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Daisuke coughed, getting our attention and ruining our 'moment.' His jealously was still _very _apparent. "Me and Ken have a little competition going on. Care to join in?" He slouched down in his chair, leaning it back on two legs.

"Uh, sure." I was a little reluctant. Who knows what those two could scheme up...

"We're gonna write down the most retarded and down right dumb questions. Whoever has the worst one has to buy lunch for all of us."

I laughed. "No thanks." I've seen Coach Lei get angry, it tops every bad experience in the Digital World by a long shot.

"Why aren't you joining in, Miyako?" Hikari asked, leaning in intently.

"I'm not going to risk anything." she replied, crumpling up her index card and tossing it into the trash can. "She sounded pretty serious..."

"Teachers at Tamachi always used to say things like that." Ken piped in. "They're empty threats."

"Whatever," Daisuke yawned, leaning back even more. "Some old hag who hasn't gotten laid in thirty years doesn't scare m-"

"_Class!_" The coach blew her whistle, making Daisuke scream like a little girl and fall to the floor from his chair. The class erupted in laughter, resulting in a blushing goggle-head and a demonic scowl from the teacher. "You're on my last nerve, Motomiya..." she growled (quite a manly growl, might I add.) Daisuke mumbled an apology and regained his composure, Miyako still snickering even after everything had calmed down.

Coach Lei blew her whistle again, even lauder this time. I was convinced that she broke the sound barrier on a daily basis. "Alright, you hooligans," It was apparent that she enjoyed calling us names; she got some sick pleasure out of it, I suppose. "Write down your questions. You have three minutes. I'm timing you... _Start!_" She clicked a button on the stopwatch she had around her neck.

Hikari and I simply followed Miyako's suit and threw our cards away without a second thought. Daisuke and Ken, on the other hand, seemed to be in deep concentration. A lightbulb lit up over the brunette's head first, he scribbled quickly on his index card and seemed proud as he finished writing and folded it in half.

It probably wasn't funny...

Ken tapped his pencil against his chin, staring into nowhere. An almost untraceable smirk flashed across his face as he finally wrote something down. It was a little refreshing for me, that kid never smiles...

"Alrighty," Coach LadyDevimon got the class' attention. "Time to pass up your cards!"

Once they were all collected, she dumped them in a shoebox and shook it violently. "_Question time_!" she screamed.

I think a window just shattered...

Coach Lei stuck her hand in the old shoebox, pulling out a card. Clearing her throat in a disgusting fashion, she read: "_I haven't started puberty yet. Do I have some kind of problem? Will I ever start?_"

"Ha!" Daisuke chuckled, then pointed at me. "That must be yours, T.P.!"

I've learned to just ignore it...

"Motomiya!" Coach Lei roared. "That's enough outta you! We _do not _make fun of anybody in this classroom! Understand?" Daisuke nodded, whimpering. Our teacher's face became calm again. "Anyway, the answer to whoever wrote the question is no. Everyone's body works different. Just give it time. Alright, next!" She tossed the card into the almost full trash can and pulled out another. "This one says: '_Can you get pregnant by holding hands?_'"

Okay, I have to admit, it was funny. I chuckled a little while the class bursted with laughter. "_Quiet!_" Everyone shut up. "I know that messy, chicken-scratch handwriting anywhere... Daisuke!" She glared at him, eyes glittering in a seemingly homicidal manner. "You all are dead if there's another jokester in here..." She scanned the class as if she were a robot locking her target. Pulling out another card, she read: "_What is a yeast infection? Can I make bread out of it?_"

Alright, that made my day. That must have been Ken's question; Daisuke doesn't have enough wit to think of something like that. The class stayed quiet for this one (except Miyako, trying her best to hold back giggles) either because: One, they feared that Coach Lei was going to transform into Leatherface and hack them up with a chainsaw (everyone believed that she kept one in her closet). Or two: because the dimwits in my class simply didn't understand the joke.

Instead of a more appropriate red color, our teacher's face turned _purple! _I could almost see steaming rising from her unflatteringly large pores. Her breathing became almost beastly. "Motomiya!" she hissed through gritted teeth. "Ichijouji!"

The said boys exchanged glances, fear plastered on their faces.

"_Lunch detention!_" she declared.

"Yes, ma'am..." The troublemakers said in unison, heads bowed.

_Riiing, riiing, riiing..._

Well, that was our cue to leave for lunch time (save for my two punished cohorts). As she walked out of the door, Miyako noticed the desperate look Ken gave her, as if pleading _'No! Don't leave me here!'_

She just smirked and chimed "Bye bye, Ken-kun. Have fun scraping feet!" She blew him a farewell kiss, which received the infamous _"No PDA!" _scold from our ever-so-kind teacher.

Hikari and I waved to them as we walked out of class. "Hey, look on the bright side," I said cheerfully just to irritate them. "At least whoever lost doesn't have to pay for lunch!" The response from Daisuke was a grunt; Ken just looked defeated.

Some would say health class is boring.

I have to disagree.

I grabbed Hikari's hand as we walked to lunch.


	5. Nightmare Sequence

**Geez, eheh, it's been a while since I've updated this. -scratches back of head- Don't shoot!**

Season: _Adventure 02._

Character Focus: _Taichi and Hikari._

Time Period: _Whatever floats your boat._

POV: _No one's 0_0_

_**Nightmare Sequence**_

"_Get back here!" Vamdemon snarled, reaching out and attempting to grab at Taichi and Hikari, who were running as fast as their adrenaline-infused bodies would allow. They scurried throughout the abstract mansion, which looked like something that came right out of Alice In Wonderland on LSD. The walls seemed like they were slowly melting to the floor like lava, mirrors distorted the reflections of those who passed, objects that normally would be grounded were given flight, the checkered tile appeared to be grinning maliciously, and everything was almost titling uphill, which made running away from the sadistic vampire Digimon an even more difficult task than it already was._

_Turning a corner, they sprinted even faster than before, fear being the only source of motivation and energy. The corridor they stumbled into seemed to go on for miles, an endless stretch of foolishness if they had chosen that path. A single black door stood out like a sore thumb to the two siblings, beckoning them to walk inside and taste salvation from their pursuer, who was an uncomfortably close distance behind them. The siblings made eye contact, nodded, then rushed to the door, hoping to leave their foe behind them for good._

_As Hikari's hand came in contact with the doorknob, so did Vamdemon's lanky fingers and the back of Taichi's shirt collar. The force pulled the boy down like a cheap rag doll, producing a _thud_ as his back hit the floor violently. Hikari watched, paralyzed and horror-stricken as her brother was dragged off to the black abyss, Vamdemon's maniacally victorious laughter providing the background music to go along with the horrid scene._

_She was punched back to reality when everything around her started to dissipate, either flowing to the ground in a sludge-like manner or just floating away like ash into the wind. Frantically, she looked around, hoping the floor she was standing on wouldn't disintegrate like the rest of the mansion._

_As the oversized house crumbled away, she noticed, it revealed tall trees, stretching quite a ways into a dim, grey, ominous ceiling of swirling clouds. Hikari took a deep, shaking breath and made her way through the trees, not quite sure where she was headed. Hugging herself, she felt more alone and desolate with each step, dread enveloping her with a single question: "Is Taichi still alive?"_

_Sighing, she turned left, and was taken off guard when a clearing in the seemingly never-ending forest was practically shoved in her face. Timid and hesitant, she stepped into the rather large vacant circular area, sunlight streaming down in beautiful beams. Looking around, something stood out, such as neon green would in a sea of black..._

_Her mother was filling up a coffin with dirt._

_"Mom?" Hikari took a step forward, a notion dawning itself upon her that this may not be her mother, but only a shell. Was Vamdemon possessing her like Oikawa? But that couldn't have been true, she was crying. "Mom, what are you doing?"_

_"Your poor brother," Her mother sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand before she continued shoveling mounds of dirt into the oblong box that served as a bed for corpses. "He never had a chance..."_

_"W-what?" Hikari took a step back, as if her mother's words had physically pushed her. "Taichi's in there?" She pointed at the coffin, which was the darkest black her eyes had ever experienced. Her mother nodded, sobbing._

_In a frenzy of traumatic madness, Hikari pushed her mother out of the way and jumped into the coffin, the dirt preventing her from falling in. She clawed out mounds of the brown, clumpy earth, throwing them behind her, frantically needing the assurance that this, in fact, was not in any way her brother._

_As the dirt manually eroded away, a body was uncovered; a body that conspicuously had on the same clothes as Taichi..._

_The cadaver was missing a head._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hikari jolted upright in bed, not being able to decipher if it was sweat or tears that flowed and created a viscera over her face. Damn, that dream was vivid, as if it were in high definition on a plasma screen in her head. It was easily her worst nightmare yet, even scoring more than the one she could recall roughly two months ago in which Tailmon returned to the influence of evil and attempted slaughtering Hikari. Yes, they were explicitly violent to an intolerable level, gore being the genre that her subconscious mind apparently favored best. If she wrote books on her experiences in the dream world, she would've been a renowned horror master.

She was shaking, she noted, then forced herself to quit, but once the shivering ceased her teeth began a rapid chattering. Hikari gave up, allowing her body to do what it needed to recover from the nightmare that would undoubtedly scar her for an ample amount of time, as most do.

Still shaking, she slowly stepped out of bed and took a quick glance at the digital clock perched on her dresser, it's red numbers the only light available in her room at that point. Six thirty-two a.m. Taichi should be getting ready for school right now.

Taichi...

Her heart returned to pounding furiously inside her chest at the remembrance of her brother and his significance in the nightmare, her breath caught in her throat as if hooked by a fishing line. She hastily felt around her room for the light switch that would be her salvation from fear, sighing in relief as everything around her was illuminated. Walking a little faster than usual, Hikari burst through her door and out into the hallway, where the bathroom light cascaded onto the floor, a signal to her brother's location.

She barged right into the bathroom, relieved when she saw Taichi brushing his teeth, his head still intact. At her forlorn appearance, he furrowed his brow and cocked his head to the side in confusion, looking like a puppy. Hikari jolted over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist in a death-grip so tight he thought she could be a leech.

"Good morning to you too, Hikari." Taichi said through a mouthful of cinnamon-flavored toothpaste.

"Taichi, I just want you to know," she said, hanging onto him like a life-raft. "that you're the best brother ever and I love you."

"Um, thanks? Love you too." Taichi didn't question her. Must've been another nightmare...


	6. Observation

**Hehe, a Sorato. I'll probably write a Taiora soon though :)**

Season:_ 02._

Character Focus: _Matt, I guess._

Time Period: _Doesn't really matter._

POV: _The all-knowing super narrator._

_**Observation**_

_Alright, this guy has completely lost it... _Yamato groaned inwardly, putting his head on the desk and using his arms as makeshift pillows while his psychology teacher informed them on their instructions: "I'll pick two people. One of them is the child, the other a parent. I'll give you a scenario and you have to act it out. Sound simple? Good."

He felt a tap on his shoulder, but he failed to pick his head up. And he still refused to acknowledge the fact that he should be awake even when the teacher asked the students if anyone had a bottle of cold water to pour on his head. Only running on two hours of sleep seemed to have that effect; it was like a car with no gas in the tank. It wasn't his fault that his concerts had the potential of running late into the night; the teacher should be grateful that he even came to class.

"Since he seems so enthusiastic today," the teacher paced around the room, which was some weird habitual nervous tick, Yamato concluded. "why doesn't Ishida go first?"

His head popped up upon hearing his name, blurry eyes scanning the classroom. Everyone's stares seemed to be aiming at him, waiting. Still sleep-drunk, he said "Um, no thanks. I'll pass." But then, of course, the teacher kept on looking at him, as if saying: _You don't have a choice. Go on, do it. You don't have a choice._

Yamato sighed, walking up to the front of the classroom and lazily plopping down in the chair that was set up there. The teacher called the next student to go up; Sora. She smiled warmly at him as she sat down the in the chair placed directly across from him, trying to offset his obviously horrid mood. He reminded her of some old cranky widower, screaming for kids to get off his damn lawn.

"Okay, here's the scene," Their teacher read from a card. "Yamato, you're playing the role of the father and Sora is the daughter. Sora, your mother just left and you're talking to Yamato about why they got divorced. You think it's your fault and his goal is to prove to you that you had no involvement in the separation."

_Freakin' fantastic! _Yamato's conscience growled sarcastically, not enjoying this one bit._ My favorite subject_... A little voice in the back of his mind was almost certain that the crazy teacher knew about his personal life, therefore incorporating it into a lesson plan just to make sure the always-hibernating student would 'get something out of it. Psh, not in a million years, mister. That little trick only worked in clichéd movies.

Sora immediately knew that this was definitely the wrong scenario for Yamato, hoping with all her might that he wouldn't try to suckerpunch the teacher in the jaw, which seemed quite likely at that moment with the way the blonde's eyes glinted with a spark of anger.

"And... begin!"

Sora looked down, then up again before commencing her acting. "Hey, uh, dad... Why did you and mom leave each other? Is it something I did?"

Yamato sighed, turning his chair around and sitting in a rather casually improper manner. He felt as if the entire classroom knew of his past, which casted a thick haze of dread over him like a storm cloud that tagged along no matter where you went. _All right, you can do it. Just play it off as a joke... "_Well, honey, I caught your slut of a mother in bed with our neighbor, so I-"

"Enough!" The teacher commanded, looking a little exasperated at Yamato's words of choice. He huffed. "Back to your seats..."

Yamato shrugged, making the chair skid as he got up, which made a rather unpleasant noise. Sora just giggled a bit, almost not believing that he had actually said that. On the other hand, it was Yamato she was dealing with. He wasn't afraid to do anything, besides get a haircut.

A few more scenarios played out, none of them amusing to Yamato at all; therefore, the process of dozing in and out of consciousness continued uninterrupted. All of the skits seemed to circle around some type of "teenage drama", such as drugs, pregnancy, and the discovery of piercings (which Yamato found quite amusing, as his father still had yet to come across the gauge in his son's left ear.)

"One type of observation is when the subject is unaware that he or she is being watched. Now, what you're going to do is pick someone to observe, but you can't let him or her know that he or she is being recorded. You will turn these papers in, so no funny business. You may begin."

Yamato dug into his bookbag for a piece of paper and a pen, overlooking and completely ignoring the teacher's rule of no ink. He scanned the room like a robot on a hunt for his target, but came up short. No one was honestly worth "observing", as the wacko psychology teacher had put it. And frankly, Yamato felt like a complete creep just watching someone and recording microscopic details about them and their actions that he honestly couldn't care any less about. He looked around again, not finding anyone even appealing to look at; that is, until his radar caught sight of a female in the second desk of the fourth row.

Target locked.

Sora was absentmindedly tapping on the gum-lined desk with her pencil, Yamato noted, writing it down. _She bites her lip when she's concentrating, _he furiously scribbled that onto the paper as well, wanting to get back to gazing at her and finding her special little habits that no one ever noticed. Like the fact that she tapped her foot on the floor or held her pencil in a peculiar way. Maybe how her eyes had tiny speckles of black swirled in with the soothing shade of brown, like an artist blendling paint. Or even how the sunlight illuminated her skin in the most elegant and angelic of ways. Yamato found himself not even comprehending what he was writing down anymore, just mere words that his subconcious apparently concluded about Sora, a looming haze in his mind that overcasted his sense like a dreary day. He just wrote, and wrote, and wrote. Needless to say, he was quite flabbergasted when he finally looked upon his paper, cocking an eyebrow at words such as _beautiful, breath-taking, perfection, _and _mind-blowing. _Not implying that these things weren't true about Sora; Yamato found her strikingly attractive, but what about the paper? He had to turn that in at the end of class, and obviously, it wasn't in acceptable form. The psycho psychology teacher would probably embarrass him with it later. He might as well crumple it up like a failed blueprint and take a zero on it. He wouldn't care too much anyway, there were plenty of more important things besides the complete waste of seven hours they call _school._

But there was always the option of turning it in to someone else…

Ring, ring, ring!

The tolling that released the students from their dreadful 'learning experience' signaled the end of the hour, causing a stampede of teenagers into the waiting halls. As everyone gave their papers to the teacher, Yamato just stuffed it into his pocket carelessly. The middle-aged man cocked a graying eyebrow at the rather slothy and underachieving pupil, and said-pupil just shrugged. He was an a dire mission; he needed to find Sora, and she was the very first one who jetted out of the class, as if it were a race to the locker bay.

Scouring the halls of wild untamable animals known as students, Yamato's eyes searched for his target much like before. He weaved through bodies like grains of sand through spread fingers, slipping through cracks and spaces without even muttering any 'excuse me's, or 'pardon me's. He cursed his sluggishness; he lost her! Indifferently, he turned the other way, a part of him hoping that he saw her after this next class and another section of him was scared to death of revealing that fateful little piece of paper to her.

With a sigh, he parked himself at his locker, which always seemed to get stuck at the most convenient of times, usually roughly a minute before the bell would ring. Something attracted his eye, somewhat of a sore thumb. Sticking out of the thin horizontal slot-like crafting of the locker was a piece of paper, neatly folded up in a rather feminine way. Curious, he unfolded the paper with complication, unnatural creases that paper should never have lined it like a scar. As frustration started to make itself noticed, the paper unraveled and returned to its normal state. Reading it, he grinned.

It was Sora's assignment.


End file.
